Build a strong barrier to the homeland of Siberian tigers and leopards, Mudanjiang protects the natural environment with the power of science and technology

China News Service, Heilongjiang, Mudanjiang, October 15th. Title: Build a strong barrier to the homeland of Northeastern tigers and leopards. Mudanjiang uses the power of science and technology to protect the natural environment.

Author Li Jiayin Chen Haoxing

In the mountains and forests of Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, a Siberian tiger paced closer and nuzzled the camera with its nose curiously. The screen shook and then stabilized.

This scene took place in the Dongning area of ​​the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, and the video was transmitted back to the large monitoring screen of the Dongning City Management and Protection Center in real time.

Dongning City is located on the border between China and Russia. It is a cross-border ecological corridor where Siberian tigers and Amur leopards inhabit and migrate. Li Gang, deputy director of Chaoyanggou Forest Farm in Dongning City, has been guarding this "corridor" for 18 years.

More than ten years ago, the work of protecting Siberian tigers "all depended on two legs." Li Gang said that the most he carried was more than 200 batteries and four or five backup cameras, and he carried it for 17 kilometers.

Today, the Dongning area of ​​the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park where he is located has used the "sky and ground" integrated monitoring system.

“Sky” refers to the use of satellite technology to plan habitat protection work at a macro level; “air” refers to the use of drones to fully inspect areas that are difficult to reach by humans; and “ground” relies on base stations and wireless backhaul cameras to integrate real-time data into the platform.

Thanks to 420 real-time return cameras and 72 video surveillance systems, rangers no longer need to frequently drill into the woods to change memory cards and batteries. In Dongning City, the system has captured more than 300 images of Siberian tigers and more than 1,300 images of Siberian leopards.

At the Tokyo City Management and Protection Center of the Mudanjiang Branch of the Manchurian Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration, Director Sun Shanhai said, "The protection work here in Tokyo City is mainly divided into two types: human patrols and drone patrols." Human patrols need to carry mobile phones or tablets to record trajectories and take images, and together with the images taken by drones, they are collected at the management center for review, storage, and analysis.

"New technology requires staff to have more comprehensive capabilities." Sun Shanhai said that in the past, patrols "just walked", but now they need to make good use of drones, mobile phones, cameras and other tools to record images, providing a solid foundation for the center to ensure the harmonious coexistence of humans and tigers.

Within the jurisdiction of the Mudanjiang Branch of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration, there are seven 700 MHz communication base stations and more than 2,000 infrared monitoring cameras to realize real-time backhaul and dynamic monitoring of forest images, environmental data, and patrol information.

From the Dongning area to the Tokyo city area, the tentacles of new technology are reaching deep into the forest. Forest protection, which once relied on manual patrols and empirical judgment, is now supported by technological means such as real-time monitoring and intelligent early warning.

The virgin forest still follows ancient natural laws, but the way to protect it is being redefined by modern technology.